BIPOC INNOVATORS ARE
ANSWERING THE CALL
Join our national network of Spiritual Innovators.
Leading from within and outside of historical traditions and institutions, BIPOC spiritual innovators are paving the way for us to connect with the sacred in today’s world.
Produced by Lotus Malana Wong and désirée dorsainvil. Supported by the Fetzer Institute.
“Lineages of Love & Liberation”
A short film amplifying the vibrant voices and sacred wisdom of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) spiritual innovators across the nation.
Together, these innovators and organizations are building new pathways for spiritual wisdom rooted in our diverse cultural traditions and collective liberation.
THERE IS A COLLECTIVE NEED FOR SPIRITUAL INNOVATION NOW.
In the United States fewer than half of people belong to a house of worship – 47% in 2021, compared to 70% in 1999. Religious institutions are closing at unprecedented rates while everyday people hunger for spiritual community..and connection with all that is larger than ourselves.
Source: GALLUP
Growing numbers of people around the world are grappling with profound stress and insecurity in the face of compounding stressors (e.g., deteriorating economic prospects, climate change, mis/disinformation, polarization).
Source: UNDP
How to join the movement…
We’re inviting Innovators, Leaders and Organizations to:
Join our BIPOC Innovators Directory
Reach out to other BIPOC Innovators in the network
Subscribe to our newsletter (see footer) and participate in future convenings!
How BIPOC spiritual innovators are leading the way……
HEALING
Healing practitioners and wisdom keepers offer sacred medicines of all kinds – teaching, practices, communities, spaces for rest and renewal – that address individual, collective, and generational trauma.
RECOVERING & RECLAIMING
Creating spaces for lineages that have been historically impacted by colonialism and imperialism. Practicing and stewarding together while honoring cultural origins and attending to risks of appropriation.
RECKONING & RETELLING
Investigating areas where religion has been interpreted from patriarchal, classist, racist, sexist, etc. lenses, providing spaces for spiritual healing and retelling the stories of traditional lineages through the voices and narratives of BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other impacted communities.
REIMAGINING
Retaining the essence of religious and wisdom lineages while reimagining the infrastructure for how spirituality is accessed and delivered.
Bringing forth spiritual practices and teachings that inspire people toward envisioning and enacting a more just and loving world. Being architects of the future and holders of emerging worldviews and stories that are ancient and new at the same time.
WORLD BUILDING
“There are few things greater than BIPOC joy, than Indigenous joy… On the other side of harm, there can be post-traumatic growth and profound wisdom and power. This is necessary wisdom and medicine for our broader world. . . The systems that caused the harm in the first place unfortunately are still in operation. . . We have a wealth of wisdom; an ecosystem that is supportive can help it grow and thrive.”
~ Kohenet April N. Baskin, Joyous Justice
Featured Organizations
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Rematriation is a multi-media initiative engaging in film production, digital content creation and community engagement. Rematriation is the home of Rematriation Magazine and, most importantly, a community of Haudenosaunee and Indigenous women choosing to heal together. We continue to re-imagine the ways in which a “magazine” can shift narratives, defy stereotypes, and reflect our own experiences.
Rematriation is a Haudenosaunee-led, digital storytelling platform connecting Haudenosaunee and Indigenous women across Turtle Island and around the world. We rematriate through Indigenous women-led, in person gatherings; online, Indigenous women-only spaces; and initiatives designed to educate the public and build allies.
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Intended Community:
Rematriation supports Indigenous women gatherings in the restoration of individual, family, and community-based wellness. Rematriation’s programs and content engages Haudenosaunee and Indigenous Sisters across Turtle Island, including Canada, Mexico and New Zealand.
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admin@rematriation.com
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We are supporting Black folks in getting and keeping their minds right and reducing stress in under 15 minutes with breath work, meditations, affirmations, mood check, journaling, and more.
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Intended community:
African American community
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The Nap Ministry was founded in 2016 by Tricia Hersey and is an organization that examines the liberating power of naps. Our “REST IS RESISTANCE” framework and practice engages with the power of performance art, site-specific installations, and community organizing to install sacred and safe spaces for the community to rest together.
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Intended Community:
BIPOC with a focus on the African American community, especially women.
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The Octavia Fund tends the seeds of new worlds through rest, restoration, and healing for Black women.
Our vision is of a world where Black women are rested, well-resourced, and living their liberation now; they fully express their gifts to drive transformative change in their lives and communities.
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Intended Community:
We strive to create a space that is welcoming for folks who identify as transgender, gender non-conforming, genderqueer, womxn, and other identities beyond the binary.
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"The Street Church" or "The Church Without Walls", is what many have come to call us. THE ROW-LA is a church, quite literally, without walls. We have no physical building. For us, this is a constant reminder that a building does not make God's church - people do. We meet worship, praise, feed, and fellowship every Friday night in downtown Los Angeles at 7pm, on the streets of Skid Row - America's homeless capital.
Our goal for the last 18 years has been to serve those in need; feeding people both spiritually & physically. If you're interested in hearing the Word of God, receiving a hot meal, or you're just curious to see how God is moving where you may have least expected it, THE ROW readily welcomes everyone!
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Intended Community:
The Row Church welcomes everyone.
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Healing by Choice! (HbC!) is a diverse circle of Women and Gender Non-Conforming Health and Healing Practitioners of color based in Waawiiyatanong / Detroit, MI. HbC! is engaged in healing justice work through listening deeply to our communities and what is needed at this time on the clock of the world. Our practices range from energy work like Reiki and Craniosacral to group support via spaces to hold grief, transformative conflict support, workshops on relieving stress, childbirth education, and therapeutic art.
We call ourselves Healing by Choice! because we get to make the choice about how and when healing happens and uphold that each of us is the expert of our own experience(s). That is one of the reasons we use the exclamation point. It says that we will be open and upfront about our healing. It is not in the background, or an afterthought, as it so often has been in society. We are inspired, in part, by Adela Nieves Martinez, our founder, INCITE! Women, Gender Non-Conforming and Trans people of Color Against Violence, and are are making a point of our existence and our practice. -
Intended Community:
HbC! does most of our work with Detroit-area groups. We choose to center and serve the most marginalized/ generationally traumatized groups of our communities. We also aim to support folks involved in justice movements in order to increase their resiliency.
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Amanda Hill (Mage of Operations)
healingbychoicedetroit@gmail.com